Why securing forensic proof at crime scene is crucial for strong case

BENGALURU: As news of top bureaucrat DK Ravi's suicide spread on the evening of March 16, relatives, politicians, police and others rushed to his apartment. All except forensics experts. Crucial evidence had been destroyed, allowing for the brewing of a political storm.

The city police is finally waking up to the basic crime-solving requirement of working in tandem with forensics. But factoring in a staff crunch at Bengaluru's recently-upgraded forensic sciences laboratory ­ it has 85 technical staff against a sanctioned strength of 147 ­ it has cobbled up a workaround: A forensics helpline to assist police preserve a crime area and salvage evidence.

“The forensics and police departments cannot work in isolation...Forensics should be integrated with police probe,“ City Police Commissioner MN Reddi told ET. But until hat happens, the police has proposed a 24-hour forensics helpline to guide spot inspectors at a crime scene, he said. In Bengaluru, the practice has been that in cases of murder, theft and other such crimes, it is left to the police to secure the area and collect evidence, for which they have a basic training that can often prove inadequate. The evidence collected is deposited at the forensic lab. Forensics experts are involved in more severe cases such as terror attacks. But here, too, they can be ineffective.

When an explosive went off outside a restaurant at Church Street on a Sunday evening in December, killing one lady and injuring three, the forensics team was brought in only the next day . The police arrived soon after the blast but for about two hours they did little to keep a curious public or vehicles away from the crime spot. By then, most of the evidence had been scattered or contaminated.

“Police inspectors were trained during their (initial) training period“ in preserving and collecting evidence, said Additional Commissioner of Police, law and order and crime (East), P Harishekaran. A forensics helpline to guide investigators in preserving evidence at a crime spot will help solve cases sooner, he said.

“Investigating officers can make use of the helpline to get around any blocks they may encounter at a crime scene,“ said B Dayananda who, as the previous chief of the forensic sciences laboratory , proposed the creation of the helpline before his transfer as Mysuru Police Commissioner last month. The helpline will be manned by an expert at the laboratory and will be open to take calls from all over the state, he said.

“Securing forensic evidence at a crime scene is crucial to build a strong case,“ he said, “and often our cases go weak because our officers are not in a position to salvage forensic evidence from a crime scene.“